Andrew Mell
Western Herald
Andrew Mell
Before Saturday, WMU coach Bill Cubit had only good things to say about his team’s matchup against the University of Michigan in their season opener. He commented about how it was a great way to start the season in a packed stadium with a good atmosphere that his players have all seen on TV before.
“We always go in as an underdog and have an opportunity to beat someone we’re not expected to beat,” said Cubit about the positivity of playing a powerhouse team to start the season.
Playing at a larger school is nothing new for Western’s football team. Last year they opened at Nebraska, West Virginia the year before that, and they played at Florida State the year prior to that. They even managed to beat Big Ten power Illinois in their “home” game at Ford Field last year.
But when you play Michigan, an in state team with one of the largest, noisiest stadiums in all of sports, a team that supposedly gets their pick of the better athletes in the region, how does that affect the team psychologically? Despite the student section’s most valiant attempts to make Waldo an imposing atmosphere for opposing teams, it is nothing compared to what the Broncos faced this past Saturday.
The stage in Michigan Stadium certainly lived up to the hype. When Michigan took the field it was impossible to hear oneself think thanks to the roar of the crowd, and when Western followed out of the tunnel, the boo’s were equally as loud.
There was an electricity in the air that prevailed through the whole game, and even those seasoned to the feel of being on such a large stage still find themselves trembling with excitement and anticipation.
Communication never seemed to be that big of an issue for the Broncos, however. Their only delay of game penalty can be attributed to a change of defensive formation more than to crowd noise, and there were no false starts.
In addition to their game in Ann Arbor, the Broncos also head into East Lansing later in the year to play Michigan State. Schools like Michigan and Michigan State compete directly with Western in terms of recruiting, especially in terms of state recruits. Popular perception is that the Big Ten schools manage to snag better athletes than Western is able to sign.
“Yeah, I think [we do use that for motivation], they didn’t think we’re good enough and we try to prove them wrong,” said Cubit when asked if his players or coaches use that perception as motivation going into games such as U of M or Michigan State.
So the Broncos, coming off a very successful 9-4 season, use both the imposing atmosphere of a larger stadium, and the opinion that they’re facing a more talented team, as positives heading into such a game. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to convert that to on-field success.
In the first quarter Western was able to do little to control Michigan’s offense. Tate Forcier had his way both through the air and on the ground, and the Broncos fell victim on a broken play to Denard Robinson, who Cubit called a “track star.”
Through the entire first half WMU’s offense simply was not able to find a rhythm whatsoever. The running game was completely dormant and they simply weren’t able to get anything done through the air. The score
was a manageable 14-0 Michigan after the first quarter, but Western’s coffin was all but sealed with the 31-0 deficit at halftime.
Noting Western’s previous success offensively against larger schools, putting up 24 points on each Nebraska, West Virginia, and Missouri in the past two seasons, I asked Cubit if he felt they could replicate that production against Michigan.
“I think we can score points on anyone, that’s not an ego, that’s having confidence in our kids,” said Cubit. Despite an impressive 73 yard touchdown strike from Hiller to Nunez, the Broncos just couldn’t get it going on Saturday.
At one point Cubit was so discouraged, he even screamed for the ball boy to get new football’s into the game because he felt a lack of grip in the balls being used contributed to some of the dropped passes.
Home field advantage has always been something touted as a valid benefit in sports, and it certainly played a role against the Broncos on Saturday. Fans and analysts both expect WMU to have a bowl worthy team again this year and we can only hope that the season opener in Ann Arbor was just a speed bump along the way.
“We’ve got a bunch of young kids,” Cubit said of his team, “but they’ve got a bunch of enthusiasm.” Enthusiasm can easily translate into teachability and on field success. Fans will have a lot to cheer about this season, and on Sept. 19, we can help the Broncos have a home field advantage of their own.
Andrew Mell, a Western Herald opinion columnist, is a senior majoring in aviation, and can be reached via e-mail at melltimejr@hotmail.com.
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